KFC’s Fantasy MLS Keeper picks – Week 13

Got a couple of positive reviews about the more free form/stream of conscience format from last week, so I’m going to give it a shot again for this week. Input is always welcome.

If you want to see more, keep reading after the break. But please join the discussion at r/FantasyMLS, that’s where a lot of planning is made and last second decisions finalized. If you have questions, please stop by! We also just rolled out a new forum layout!

This week should be a lot easier for many managers. The only big worry that many people have is when international players will be leaving. Unfortunately, I don’t have any solid answers for that question, but there have been some threads popup at r/FantasyMLS so I recommend checking those out and checking back.

Keepers

There is a lot of, what I would call, evenly matched games this week for keepers or at least games that could go 50/50 for shutouts. SKC is playing HOU in a rematch from their game a couple of weeks ago. This one looks tight, but I’d have to give the edge to Jimmy Nielsen due to How Houston tend to play on the road. DAL v SJ is another head scratcher. Fernandez is a great keeper to have, but the lingering injuries that Dallas has been experiencing are worth considering, especially when going up against the all-out attack that San Jose has. This is one of the 50/50 games for me and one I could easily ending in a draw (let’s face it; Busch has not had luck with shutouts).

Scraping the bottom of the barrel are NE v TOR and COL v CHV. All of these teams have been struggling but they do have some standouts: Dan Kennedy is one. Kennedy has been a great bonus point generator and is fairly prices at $5.0. My only worry is that Deshorn Brown may be able to get one by this week; New England has me scratching my head a bit. They have two keepers to choose from (Bobby Shuttleworth and Matt Reis) and I’m not sure who will be starting in the future. I’d love to have a NE keeper for Week 15 and because of the run of home games they have, but I’m not sure who to get just yet. One of these guys could be an ideal differential. And we can’t forget about Clint Irwin who has been one of the standout value picks of the season so far.

The only other keepers I want to point out are Robles and Rimando. Luis Robles is number one when it comes to total points and he’s under $6m. New York has really turned it and he’s a guy to keep an eye on. Just keep in mind that their home game run is about over and they have a bye in week 15. Nick Rimando the 2nd in points and RSL have a great run of home games that includes week 15, but he is on the USMNT roster so you may want to look to the RSL bench if you want one of their players.

Everyone else is either not a real standout to us or just has a game that could go both ways.

Final thoughts

• Still, for the love of all that is good in the world SELL HAMID!

• Watch out for International players: Hamid, Johnson, and Rimando at least

• Could be hard for a shutout this week. Keep defender health in mind too

• Carlo Cudicini? Your guess is as good as mine.

That’s all I got. I’d love to hear your feedback, plans, and insights.

These are our picks, if you think there should be more names on this list, please leave a comment or come to r/FantasyMLS and comment on the post. You can also leave a message on our Facebook page or you can find us on Twitter @FantasyMLSTips. Keep checking back for more updates through the week for other positions. Good Luck!

Hi all I’m new to this, I play this usually in the UK and thought I might try my luck with the MLS fantasy game. My problem is the lack of knowledge.
Normally I would pick either one really good goallie, probably the keeper of the predicted champion, with one cheap keeper that will always play but only needs to come of the bench if the first goallie is injured or has a bye or is away for international duties.

The other option is to pick 2 budget keepers who are capable of making lots of saves in a game and picking up a clean sheet now and again. Obviously again they have to rotate well with byes and international duties.

I don’t know enough yet to make a good choice so all help is appreciated.

Great to hear that you are giving MLS a shot this year. It’s very similar to the FPL game (same company).

The two biggest differences to keep in mind is that the MLS keepers’ price range is not as large as PL and that MLS keepers can get bonus points for other defensive actions besides saves. This makes several of the budget keepers very viable choices.

Clint Irwin is a backup who came in early when the starter broke his arm. He’s cheap and has been playing very well. I think He’s a good pick because of his price and performance, but I don’t know about long term.

After that, Many of the top point keepers are very close and cover a range of prices. Jimmy Nielsen is behind a good defense as are Tally Hall and Raul Fernandez (International Risk).

I also like New England Keepers. They have two who have been playing and I’m not sure who will be starting the next couple of games, but they have several home games and are tempting.

I’m in same position as you and could really do with a FFS or FFC type site but c’est la vie. I’ve just found this site too so hopefully I can start making some more informed decisions, ive had a little look over at the reddit message board and there seems to be a fair few posting over there. There is also a radio show called extra time radio but not to sure how I feel about that one yet! I’ll listen again next week and decide then if its for me or not.
A few of us from the FFC site set up a league at the start of the MLS season, your more than welcome to join fortunately there are other late arrivals so some only have 1 game under their belt and others should be joining this week.

Submit an Article

Do you have some fantasy tips or insights that you'd like to share? We'd love to let you share them at MLS Fantasy Boss.
Click this image for more information on how to submit your own article. All we ask is that it's factual, helpful, and your own creation.

Draft MLS Fantasy

Support MLSFB

A few people have asked me if it's possible to donate to help support MLS Fantasy Boss. In response, I created this PayPal button but I'm not going to post this without more details.

First, thanks so much if you choose to donate. Everyone involved with MLSFB does this out of love for the MLS Fantasy game but love does not pay for hosting.

So all donations will go directly back into MLSFB to enable me to continue to provide the content you all love, and (if fortunate enough) to look for ways to make things better.